Most Wanted
Transportation Safety
Improvements
Federal Issues
AVIATION
Improve Crew Resource Management
Objective
Importance
Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 and scheduled 14 CFR Part 135 operators are required to provide pilots with crew resource management (CRM) training in which accidents are reviewed and skills and techniques for effective crew coordination, resource allocation, and error management are presented. CRM training augments technical training and enhances pilots’ performance in the cockpit. The Safety Board has investigated several fatal aviation accidents involving Part 135 on-demand operators in which the carrier either had not implemented a CRM program or the carrier’s CRM program was much less comprehensive and effective than would be required for a Part 121 carrier.(1) These accidents were caused by errors made by the crew, and it is possible that an effective CRM program might have interrupted the chain of events that led to the accident.
Summary of Action
In April 2004, the FAA stated that an Aviation Rulemaking Committee was reviewing Part 135 in many respects, including requiring CRM training for Part 135 operators. At that time, the FAA indicated that a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the Part 135 revisions, including requiring CRM training, was scheduled to be issued in fiscal year 2005. In June 2006, the FAA briefed Safety Board staff on its activities to require CRM training for Part 135 on-demand flight crews. At that time, the FAA repeated that these requirements would be included as part of the comprehensive revisions to Part 135 and that an NPRM with the Part 135 revisions was scheduled to be issued by mid-2007.
In its April 2008 letter, the FAA stated that a rulemaking project to require all Part 135 certificate holders, both single-pilot and dual-pilot operations, to implement FAA-approved CRM training for crewmembers and flight followers had been initiated. This rulemaking is independent of the comprehensive Part 135 revisions, which continue to result in significant delays. The proposed NPRM was scheduled to be published by the end of 2008 according to the April 2008 letter.
Action Remaining
Implement a requirement for Part 135 on-demand operators to establish and implement a CRM training program in accordance with the CRM training requirements in Part 121.
Safety Recommendation
A-03-52 (FAA)
Issued December 2, 2003
Added to the Most Wanted List: 2006
Status: Open—Unacceptable Response
Require that 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on-demand charter operators that conduct dual-pilot operations establish and implement a Federal Aviation Administration–approved crew resource management training program for their flight crews in accordance with 14 CFR Part 121, subparts N and O. (Source: Loss of Control and Impact with Terrain, Aviation Charter, Inc., Raytheon (Beechcraft) King Air A100, N41BE, Eveleth, Minnesota, October 25, 2002. [NTSB/AAR-03/03])
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